Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to challenge Clinton: 'I am running for president'





MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Bernie Sanders has made it official, telling The Associated Press in an interview that he's running for president.

The Vermont independent senator said Wednesday that he will seek the Democratic nomination, joining Hillary Rodham Clinton in a race in which she is the heavy favorite.

But Sanders says people should not underestimate him. He says his brand of what he calls "Democratic Socialism" has appealed to Democrats, Republicans and independents for many years in Vermont, and he thinks his message can resonate across the country.

Sanders says he expects to have to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, and hopes to do so from middle- and working-class Americans who want to join his fight against what he calls big-money interests in American politics.